HONOR......REMEMBER.......STAY HEALTHY.....STAY SAFE........WEAR YOUR MASK!


VOLUME 14 NO. 22

 SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2020 

broker lic. #01514230 | source: CoreLogic, Freddie Mac, BankrateTHEWEBB-MARTIN GROUPJan Greteman 626.975.4033jan@jangreteman.com 
jangreteman.com #01943630Judy Webb-Martin 626.688.2273jwmartin@dppre.com #00541631 
Katie Orth 626.688.0418korth@dppre.com #00942500Who We Are:
Residents & business owners 
of Sierra Madre selling real estate 
since 1975 & proudly giving back 
to the community.
Your Story. Your Home. Your Team.
Together Stronger.
We offer over 90 years 
of trusted experience. 
Please reach out to us for any 
of your real estate needs.
690 Oak Crest Dr.
Sierra Madre 91024Represented the BuyerWe are active & doing business safely 
& successfully. Call us today if you are 
looking to buy or sell!
SOLD451 Camillo Rd.
Sierra Madre 91024Represented the Seller
SOLD180 S. Michillinda Ave.
Sierra Madre 91024www.180michillinda.com
IN ESCROW381 Mariposa Ave. #BSierra Madre 91024Represented the Seller
118 East Laurel Ave. #CSierra Madre 91024
NEW LISTINGListed at $789,000www.118EastLaurel.com3 Beds | 3 Baths | 1,800 sfMultiple Offers!Starting bid of $599,000BACK ON THE MARKET
PHYLLIS CHAPMAN, A TRUE 
SIERRA MADRE TREASURE, 
SAYS FAREWELL

COVID-19 AND OUR LOCAL ECONOMY

Temporary Closures May Become Permanent for 
Some Local Businesses By Kevin McGuire

Sierra Madre

 In the Kersting Court area of Sierra 
Madre, you can still take-out food 
favorites from Lucky Baldwins, 
or Corfu and The Only Place in 
Town along Sierra Madre Blvd., 
who will all be offering limited Al 
Fresco dining in the near future 
with permit fees waived as part of 
the “Sierra Madre Cares Initiative.” 
The City collaborated on this 
program through their partnership 
with the Sierra Madre Chamber 
of Commerce. Chamber President 
Luther Tsinoglou said, “The 
Sierra Madre Chamber and City 
recognize that our local businesses 
are struggling from the effects of 
COVID-19. We want to work with 
the City to help out businesses and 
the community as much as possible. 
This is a step in the right direction.”

There has also been a grant and 
loan program announced last week, 
but will it be too late or enough to 
save struggling, small businesses? 
“We are in a gigantic cluster, I feel 
like there are fires everywhere 
and I have a tiny hose that won’t 
reach,” said Carol Canterbury, real 
estate agent and Vice President 
of the Sierra Madre Chamber of 
Commerce. “There are several 
businesses closing because of 
[COVID-19], we lost Koi and there 
are rumblings…the hair salons 
and nail salons I worry about. It’s 
scary!” Canterbury mentioned a 
number of newer businesses in the 
area that could be affected such as 
the Shabby Dog, Sierra Fitness and 
Pilates and Sierra Madre Massage 
Company, which just opened this 
past year. 

Koi Loungewear, which resided on 
55 N. Baldwin Ave., was wiped out 
as a direct result of the virus after 
27 years in business between Sierra 
Madre and Pasadena locations. 
“Our business was booming and 
doing fantastic,” said Linda Davis, 
owner of Koi, whose shop is now 
completely empty. “It’s pretty sad. 
I’m lucky that my landlord let me 
out of my lease. That’s the fortunate 
part. The unfortunate part is the 
$100,000 worth of merchandise 
that I received the weeks before this 
happened that I have to pay for,” 
Davis said.

Shoes stores and clothing stores 
have to buy so far in advance to 
stock and can’t easily transition 
to a successful online business. 
People are unable to try clothes 
on or return clothes as they would 
under normal circumstances. “For 
businesses like mine there’s no 
help,” Davis said. “When they did 
the stimulus…it didn’t really make 
any sense. It was just really thinking 
of big businesses when they said 
500 employees or under. It should 
have been 50 and under. It was set 
up from the start to help franchisees 
and big companies,” Davis said. 

Monrovia

On a beautiful Spring day, Myrtle 
Avenue in Monrovia would 
normally be bustling with folks 
enjoying ice cream, gazing the 
knick-knacks in the many specialty 
shops, sampling a new IPA at one 
of the gastropubs, or headed to 
Studio Movie Grill to enthrall 
themselves in the latest Summer 
blockbuster. But instead, because 
of the COVID-19 pandemic, 
this town is barren and instead 
of OPEN signs, many businesses 
display copy machine signs that all 
read pretty much the same thing—
Temporarily Closed.

An older man, sporting the 
latest fashionable face mask, sits 
alone on a bench across from the 
closed Studio Movie Grill which 
would have been packing them 
in for movies such as Marvel’s 
Black Widow, now delayed, and 
the animated Scoob, which went 
straight to many of the available 
streaming services as the stay-at-
home order remains in place in 
California. 

There are a few locals picking up 
food among the establishments 
that decided to brave the storm and 
offer take-out food orders such as 
Sena, Jake’s Roadhouse, and Peach 
Café, just around the corner on 
Colorado Blvd. Restaurants, such 
as the Monrovian Restaurant and 
1776 Gastropub, have decided to 
use this downtime to complete 
needed renovations. And though 
some small businesses have been 
able to reopen with curbside 
pickup, others, such as clothing 
stores and nail and hair salons can’t 
predict what the future holds for 
them. 

(Continued on page 3)


Long-time resident & pillar 
of the Sierra Madre community, 
Phyllis Chapman, 
died the evening of Monday 
May 18th at the age of 97. 
She was most commonly 
known at the Sierra Madre 
Historian.

 Phyllis was born to 
Charles and Bertha (Freedman) 
Fried in Yonkers, 
New York in August of 
1922. At a military event 
during WWII, Phyllis met 
Navy member Edward 
Chapman and they married 
soon after. During one of 
their visits from St. Louis to 
family in Pasadena, they fell 
in love with Sierra Madre 
and moved there in 1953. 
When she found the house 
they eventually bought, she 
exclaimed she would feel 
like she was on vacation every 
day! They raised their son, John and daughter Christie in this home.

 

Phyllis was an exemplary role-model and outstanding member of the 
city she loved. Her tireless spirit and countless hours spanned decades of 
volunteering, fundraising, event planning, campaigning, and advocating 
for the community, its members and its history. This earned her not only 
respect from the town but a brick at City Hall, Citizen of the Year (1980), 
Honorary Life Membership at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and 
more. She is also accredited with helping push through the creation of 
the Children’s Room at the SM Library. Her memberships included the 
Civic Club, Women’s Club, Historical Preservation Society, Arboretum, 
the Priscilla’s, a local Red Hatter’s club to name but a few. These kept her 
busy and made a large impact to these organizations and those she served 
with. Her knowledge for the history of Sierra Madre and the San Gabriel 
region was awe-inspiring and led to frequent articles she wrote for the 
local paper and acknowledgment for her contribution to a book written 
about Sierra Madre in 2009. She was the official Wistaria Vine historian 
for more than 30 years and ironically, for the first time in the last 25 years, 
her history was not published due to cancellation of the event this year.

 

She was a stranger to no one and she could be counted on for her quick 
wit, historical quips and friendly banter. She was a frequent volunteer 
and docent for school and historic building tours, the Wisteria Festival, 
Mt Wilson Trail Race, and even as the “Wicked Witch” at the Memorial 
Park Haunted House for some years. In 2011, she was bestowed with the 
honor of being named one of the first Treasures of Sierra Madre.

 

Phyllis was preceded in death by her father Charles, mother Bertha and 
sister Dorothy. She is survived by her husband Ed, along with her son 
John Chapman (Melinda) of Vancouver Washington and grand daughters 
Nicole (Marc) and great grand daughters Paige and Aubrey; Michele (Damon) 
and great grandsons Jayden, Zane and Mason; Julianne (Anthony) 
and great grandson Bo; and her daughter Christie Chapman (Bruce Nealley) 
of Eugene, Oregon, and her grand daughters Venessa (James) and 
Monique (Darrell) and great grandchildren Dylan, Aiden and Alexis; and 
grandson Raymond and great granddaughter Emberlee. 

 

At this time, a service has not yet been planned but will be announced 
once restrictions are lifted. In lieu of flowers, we would suggest 

donations be made to Sierra Madre Women’s Club.


MOUNTAIN VIEWS 
NEWS TO HONOR 2020 
GRADUATES

The June 6th edition of this paper will be dedicated 
to the Class of 2020! In order to be included, please 
send your grads senior picture, their full name, age and school. These 
grads are making history, our the Mountain Views News wants to give 
them something else to remember! 

Send to: editor@mtnviewsnews.com

Subject: Class of 2020


INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN VIEWS 
NEWS THIS WEEK

ARTICLES/INFORMATION ON DEALING WITH COVID19 
CAN BE FOUND THROUGHOUT THIS EDITION

COVID UPDATES.........................................PAGE 7

A VERY DIFFERENT MEMORIAL DAY....,.....Page 2

MORE SIERRA MADRE NEWS......................Pgs 3,4

PASADENA NEWS ......................................Page 5

ARCADIA/MONROVIA & MORE................Page 6

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY.................Page 7

EDUCATION & YOUTH.................................Page 8

SENIOR.COMMUNICATIONS......................Page 11

OPINION......................................................Page 12